All Blacks Fail to Inspire in Cup Opener

By

Lucy Craymer

Updated Sept. 9, 2011 10:15 a.m. ET

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—No one was expecting New Zealand to lose its first match of the Rugby World Cup, but after two successive defeats the All Blacks needed to prove they deserve the tag of tournament favorites.

ENLARGE

New Zealand All Blacks center Ma'a Nonu escapes with the ball in front of Tonga's fly-half Kurt Morath during the 2011 Rugby World Cup opening match.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

They didn't. Although New Zealand—nicknamed the All Blacks due to their attire—beat the 12th-ranked Pacific Island team Tonga 41 to 10, the win wasn't sufficient to reassure fans after successive losses to South Africa and Australia that this team is up to winning the coveted William Webb Ellis trophy.

While the All Blacks persevered with a fast, slightly flashy and perhaps even adventurous style of rugby, the team—renowned for failing to deliver every four years at World Cup time—continued to make careless handling errors and concede penalties throughout the 80 minutes.

For a team with a history of choking under pressure, these errors could prove critical when the All Blacks move into the tournament's elimination round.

A near-capacity crowd of 60,200 fans, mostly donning black, filed into the newly expanded Eden Park Stadium in Auckland to watch the host team's first game in a quest to lift the trophy on Oct. 23.

In this rugby-mad nation, fans' hopes have been high that the current crop of New Zealand players can claim the country's first World Cup title in 24 years. The All Blacks—ranked consistently the best team of recent years—have come agonizingly short of being crowned champions at each World Cup since winning the inaugural 1987 tournament, also held here.

On the field, Sonny Bill Williams brought some of the much-anticipated magic to the All Blacks' running game with his ability to offload a pass seamlessly while under pressure. After his exclusion from the team's final Tri Nations match against Australia last month, Williams signaled he could be a star of the tournament.

Although they failed to win the match, the Tongans' ability to hold possession, beat the All Blacks in the territory game and defend against the No. 1 side's running attack will have given their supporters something to cheer about.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry admitted after the game that, despite the comfortable victory margin, his team had some work to do and that nerves might have got in the way of a more accomplished performance.

"We scored a few tries, got maximum points, defended well and had a good structure but we made mistakes and gave away too many penalties … so there is a bit of work to be done," he said. "It was the start of the tournament. There was a little bit of tension. We have waited a long time for this and perhaps we weren't as free as we normally are."

The tournament continues Saturday with England matching up with Argentina, Japan playing France, Scotland against Romania, and Fiji taking on Namibia.

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